What is reservation and booking?

  • Jul 09, 2024
What is reservation and booking?

It is essential to define what Reservation and Booking means before we proceed further into discussing it comprehensively.

A reserved space and a booked space are different yet interchangeable when it comes to making an appointment or a reservation. It would be more efficient to understand the differences between the two terms so that consumers can make their plans effectively.

What is a Reservation?

A reservation is a form of booking that is made in advance so that an object, service, or piece of property can be held in readiness for the person making the reservation. It involves holding a space, item, or service for a later date or holding space for someone until a specific date.

For instance, if you phone a restaurant to book a table for 7 in the evening today, it means you are booking the table with the expectation that no other customer will be allowed to take it before you get there at 7 as agreed. It gets your name and number and reserves a particular table for you so that when your party arrives it is automatically assigned to you.

Common examples of reservations include:

  • Paying for a hotel room for an agreed number of days
  • Booking a specific show or performance through the theatre or the event management.
  • Selecting a slot when to play at a golf course
  • Hire a hall for a party or any other social event
  • Booking a camping site with one of the state/national park

Essential to a reservation, however, is the availability that is promised at a particular location at a specific date and time. In this way, without receiving the payment in advance, it gives the temporary right to use the service or goods until they are taken by the person who reserved them. Concerning flexibility, it can be noted that bookings are usually free to be changed or canceled based on the policies set by the companies.

In case of some emergency or if one has to change the date or time, he can easily do, so if he has a reservation. For instance, using the phone to inform the restaurant that what was agreed on was for 4 people to dine together, but actually, only 2 will be coming. Some policies are related to cancellation and /or change fees.

What is a Booking?

While a reservation is just an indication of the person's intent to use a certain good or service at a later date, booking is an indication of the person's willingness to pay for a good or service in exchange for its immediate utilization. If you want something, you pay a fee that confirms your ride and the terms and conditions of the service.

For example, when booking a car rental service, this means there will be a car available for the agreed date of pick up for use. But to rent that car, one has to fill out details of the payment card and formally agree to take the car to possession. The process of canceling a booking or modifying it often requires a charge to be paid.

Common examples of bookings include:

  • It is the process of reserving a flight that involves the purchase of a ticket with a fixed time of travel and intended destination.
  • At the time of making a reservation, you need to give payment details to secure the hotel and the days you are going to be staying.
  • It is common to book a cruise by putting a down payment or paying for the total cost to secure your cabin.
  • Hiring a trainer at the gym means you are tied down to the exercise session on certain days/times.
  • When hiring a DJ or a caterer for your wedding, you make a service contract with them

Thus the main characteristic of a booking is that it is a purchase that has been made and is not being ‘held’ pending availability. They give payment details if they have not paid fully earlier in the undertaking of the dealing. Since the service provider assigns the resources according to the bookings, they charge extra in the majority of the cases when bookings are canceled or altered.

Key Differences

While reservations and bookings sound similar, the main differences include: While reservations and bookings sound similar, the main differences include:

  • Reservations, on the other hand, only reserve a place for a certain period while bookings guarantee a complete consumption of the product.
  • The places can sometimes be booked and then canceled or altered without any cost; bookings can incur fees
  • Some measures include: Reservations involve offering contact information; bookings involve giving credit card information.
  • Reservations place a preliminary hold on stocks; bookings engage them
  • Reservation is a temporary form of sale and it lapses if it is not renewed after the agreed time; bookings are a final sale.

To sum up, a reservation only blocks the availability of a certain service or good using the contact information, while a booking confirms the order using payment information. Reservations are less committed compared to bookings due to the flexibility offered to customers, however, bookings ensure that the sellers get committed customers in exchange for the assured inventory. By being able to grasp these differences, consumers can devise a better strategy for their spending.

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